1959 MILANO MG Ex Bruce Leer This is the first of Bruce Leers three Milano's. It was constructed in 1959 and based on a 1933 MG J2 Chassis and suspension. Fitted with MG TC motor bored out to 1466cc coupled to a close ratio MG TC gearbox, TC diff housing with modified A series diff centre. The Milano body was constructed by JWF glass-fibre industry's. Ian (Sam) Johnson had a big part to play in the cars construction being the J in JWF.

This iconic Australian special is now offered For Sale it has just had a full body restoration and repaint in two pack orange, (original colour). Mechanically the car is excellent, motor is MG TF 1500 block with all steel internals and the head has been set up to run 98 pump fuel. Comes with Cams Historic Log Book and COD, the car is also eligible for FIA HTP papers. Genuine enquiries 02 66518141 ( May Consider Trade ? )

Thank's to all the overseas enquire's !!!. I have the following approximate costs to ship the car as follows. EX- Brisbane to the UK au $5,500.00 + my costs to get to the port au $200.00. EX- Brisbane to LA- North America au $4,500.00 + my costs to get to port au $200.00

Not having heard of JWF, here's an interesting American take on this car.

Fifties Fiberglass: 1933 MG J2 Based Racer

This 1933 MG J2-based special is referred to as the “Milano MG” and sports a pre-war MG chassis, MG TC drivetrain and attractive custom bodywork. Built in 1959, this interesting mashup may not have the most sophisticated chassis, but its light weight and more slippery shape should make it an entertaining competitor in vintage racing. Find it here on eBay in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia for $60,000 AUD (~$42,600 USD today). Special thanks to BaT reader Kyle K. for this submission.

Creativity and a less thorough understanding of aerodynamics led to some very pretty fiberglass shapes in the ’50s, and this car is no exception. According to the ad, it’s been treated to a recent bodywork restoration with fresh two stage paintwork that shows very well in photos. Wire wheels are of a noticeably smaller diameter than those fitted standard to an MG J2.

The cabin is all business, with simple instrumentation and a basic aluminum gear lever poking out of the short-ratio MG TC gearbox. The rest of the drivetrain is TC-sourced as well, including the bored-out 1466cc engine and diff housing with A-series internals. While bodywork looks fresh, the cockpit is nicely worn-in. No mention is made of any suspension improvements over the J2, which could leave this car with half-elliptic springs and friction shock absorbers at all four corners.

This Australian-made special has the potential to be quite swift, though its primitive underpinnings should always keep things interesting in the corners.

Car enthusiasts in NSW should now be able to enjoy their classic cars more often thanks to the trial of a concessional registration scheme for cars more than 30 years old. The trial, which begins in October, means that classic car owners – including owners of motorcycles and classic street machines - will enjoy a system similar to Victoria’s successful Historic scheme, where membership of a recognised car club, and use of a vehicle log book, will allow classic cars to be used more often, and with more freedom, than the existing (and continuing) only-to-club-runs scheme.

The trial scheme comes after four years of effort from a dedicated team of car enthusiasts such as the Australian National Street Machine Association’s Garry Warnes, Australian Confederation of Motor Clubs’ patron Alan Hay, now-retired Shannons’ NSW business development manager Tony O’Donnell and former Street Machinemagazine editor Geoff Seddon, among others.

The trial scheme will run in addition to the present NSW Historic Vehicle plate scheme, where vehicles are technically unregistered, but may be driven to and from club events and for maintenance only using a Certificate Of Approved Operations. Classic car owners and recognised clubs will have the opportunity to opt-in to the new trial scheme but the scheme will allow more scope for classic car owners by allowing modifications that are not now accepted by many car clubs under the present H-plate Historic Vehicle scheme.

"If the vehicle is able to be engineered for full rego, it’s welcome under the new scheme," says Garry Warne. "This is not a back-door way to get an unacceptable car onto the roads."

Although announced by NSW Minister for Roads Maritime and Freight, Duncan Gay (himself a car enthusiast so very understanding of enthusiasts’ wants and needs), some finer details of the two-year trial scheme are yet to be finalised, such as the type of number plates required to be displayed on the cars. With many classic cars wearing their original ‘85 (or earlier) number plates, it is – as has been the case with the present H-plate registration scheme – a shame that a part of many classics’ original character is lost when the original number plates are surrendered or stored.

"There’s still some fine tuning to do," continues Garry. "But the scheme is up: the Minister and his team of public servants have been good to us. They’re making it happen."

Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Potentially deadly counterfeit motor racing harnesses have been uncovered by Carmarthenshire Trading Standards. The counterfeit harnesses bearing the Sabelt, Sparco and Takata brand names, have been sold on eBay and Facebook by a Carmarthenshire trader, amongst a range of counterfeit car accessories and clothing. The trader at the center of the investigation is not currently being identified pending possible prosecution, but the trading standards team are warning people about the fakes to prevent anyone being injured, or even killed, by using the harnesses unaware that they are dangerous. The team has also released a shocking video showing the ‘catastrophic fail’ of the counterfeit Sparco six-point harness failing in controlled safety test conditions at just 50mph. The harness failed on several points, indicating that in a real life situation - and under normal use - it could cause death or serious injury. The counterfeit harness under test was branded as Sparco. There is a real risk that the counterfeit Sabelt and Takata harnesses sold by this trader could also similarly fail. The Trading Standards team is working closely with the official product manufacturers and relevant government authorities in issuing a nationwide warning notification about the fake harnesses. Customers known to have bought the counterfeit Sparco, Sabelt and Takata harnesses from this trader have been advised to remove them from their vehicles immediately and seek civil advice. The team has stressed that there are no safety issues with genuine Sparco, Sabelt and Takata harnesses, all being reputable brands within the motor racing industry. Trading Standards urge customers to buy only through an authorized stockist of the brand they are interested in when purchasing a new harness. Cllr Jim Jones, Carmarthenshire County Council’s Executive Board Member for Public Protection, said: “We are very concerned about these counterfeit products. Not only are they cheaply made fakes, but they could be potentially fatal. “We are pleased to be working with the official manufacturers of the Sabelt, Sparco and Takata harnesses to help customers identify whether they have bought a genuine product or an imported fake.” - See more at: http://www.motorsport-safety.org/media/news/dangerous-fake-motor-racing-harnesses-uncovered#sthash.wRdnK6PW.dpuf

Geoff W, the original owner/builder of Peter Mac's Mk.7, spots his old car at the end of the Bay2Birdwood this year. That must have been pretty exciting after all those years.

Let Geoff tell you all about it.......

Hi all,

I was intrigued at the Bay to Birdwood on 28 September 2015 to see Bolwell Mk 7 RAA 633. I was the first owner of this car, and thought it might be of some interest to recount its history.

I bought the car from the factory as a body shell in 1967. I was 24 years old at the time, starting to earn a steady wage for the first time, and had been interested for years in building what was then known as a “kit car”. (I grew to hate this term, implying as is does something like an Airfix kit to just be put together and go driving. This was very far from the truth). I’d dreamed of a Buckle – allegedly moulded off an Aston Martin DB3 - which was beyond my means and even to me was clearly a project needing a lot of builder input. Then came the Bolwell; I became aware of it at the Mk 5 stage – something of a development phase - and when the Mk 7 came along, claiming to be a breeze to put together using standard readily-available parts, I was hooked.

So I paid my money, put my order in and went through the delights of deciding what mechanicals to put in it; it was said to be suitable for standard parts from things like Holdens; the only exception was the tail-lights which had to come from a Toyota Crown. As always, the tradeoff between desirability, cost and technical practicality reared its rather delightful head - so many decisions, so little time. I opted for the simplest, most economical and widely-available components, mostly Holden including a “grey engine out of somethink like and EK. I imagine RAA 633 has moved up in the world since then with later and better equipment.

Each body shell was individually built and you had to wait your turn. I’d taken my three weeks annual leave and planned to have it built and on the road at the end of a marathon building session, aided and abetted by the factory who claimed such things were possible. As I waited I amassed all the parts and when the message came that my shell was ready, some kind friends agreed to tow a boat trailer to Melbourne to get it. Their vehicle was a VW Kombi van, so it was a slow journey!

Registration – lined up on date in 1967 when changfe from numeric to alphanumeric, hoping to get RAA 1 but to no avail

.....well, it was Geoff's everyday driver for quite a while. In that time, I met him only once, if I recall, but used to see the car regularly parked in O'Connell Street and inside the grounds of Adelaide Uni when I was there. It was a deep blue colour then. I think Colin owned it briefly and passed it on to Grant who had it as his everyday car for donkeys years.

Undercoat grey was standard livery for many a Mk.7, remember Casper? From Grant it went to Barry's where it sat in the shed that is now Kath's sewing room, along with Susie's old 7, for as long as Grant had it on the road. Finally John McL rescued both cars as a package and passed RAA-633 on to Pete who has restored it beautifully and is certainly getting a lot of enjoyment from it.

I'm sure Geoff would have some photos of the car from the 60s. I intend to find out.